Scottish League Cup previews and predictions – Tuesday 18th July

Elgin City v Heart of Midlothian

Hearts missed out on a top-three finish in what was a somewhat disappointing 2016/17 campaign but they will be eager to kick-start the coming season with victory in the Scottish League Cup on Tuesday evening. The good news for the Jambos is that they will be up against League Two side Elgin City who were roundly thrashed to the tune of 6-0 by Dunfermline Athletic in their previous match. Heart of Midlothian will almost certainly win by a comfortable margin.

Kilmarnock v Clyde

Kilmarnock were on the receiving end of a 1-0 defeat to League One side Ayr United at the weekend and they will aim to bounce back from this disappointing result by beating Clyde at Rugby Park on Tuesday evening. We firmly believe that they will manage this against a Clyde outfit which narrowly avoided a relegation play-off last season and who were utterly dreadful away from home. This is an ideal chance for Killie to put their opening-day defeat firmly behind them.

Queen of the South v East Kilbride

Queen of the South enjoyed an excellent start to this tournament when winning 3-1 at Stenhousemuir on Saturday and we envisage them grabbing for themselves another relatively straightforward victory when they entertain East Kilbride at Palmerston Park on Tuesday evening. This is a must-win for Queens should they with to win Group G and we’ll be backing them to triumph in front of a hopeful home support in their second competitive match of the season.

Stirling Albion v Inverness Caledonian Thistle

Newly-relegated Inverness Caledonian Thistle are looking to bounce back up to the Premiership at the first attempt following their utterly dismal 2016/17 season which saw them relegated to the second tier. They started their campaign in decent fashion with a 3-0 weekend win over Brechin City in the Scottish League Cup and we’ll be backing them to make it two on the bounce when they travel to League Two side Stirling Albion this week. Albion were thrashed 4-1 by Falkirk at the weekend and they will almost certainly be no match for the Highlanders on Tuesday.